Yeah…men…what would we do without them lol

That story actually reminded me of a joke I once heard…so here it is:
God came to Adam and told him he has a good and bad news for him and wonder which one he would rather hear first. Adam said 'The good one, of course!' And god answered ‘The good news is I decided to give you two new organs, the first is the brain and the second one is the penis!’ Adam of course was happy with it, I mean who wouldn’t be , but he was curious about the bad news… So god told him ‘Yes you are going to have brains and the penis but you won’t be able to use it at the same time!’ ;)

Anyway, I just came back to tell you I am really silly :D
I was exercising what I thought was 40mins and I’m thinking to my self ‘oh come on you cant be that tired from 40mins?!’ but I was, so I thought ok its gonna be only 40 mins today (+7mins of orbitrek). I usually do 45 without the additional 7. But still something didn’t feel right, something was wrong with the time and then I realized I didn’t exercise 40mins but 50 totally by mistake :D So that’s 50+7…I did 12 additional mins without even planning it. :lol:

Luan – I’m sorry to hear about your boyfriend, but from what I see it’s for the best. You’ll be ok ;) :hug:

Now off to bed. Take care everyone :)

Sorry this got to be so long. Had a lot to say, apparently!
 

Hi everyone!! Boy have you all been busy bees!! But I see you all were good girls while I was gone. :joker: There is no way I can catch up with all the posts I missed so no personals today. :^:

Friday I went to the Dr. She said I have laryngitis (sp?) which is viral so there was nothing she could give me. I felt so stupid wasting my time and the $15 co-pay when there was nothing could be done, but how was I to know? :dunno: When you're clogged up with green gunk and cant talk you tend to think something is pretty wrong. Oh well. My voice was almost gone Friday but it is a lot better now.

We went to the casino Saturday night. It was my first time going since I quit smoking. I could not BELIEVE how disgusting it was in there. :barf: I had to put my shirt over my nose a few times, I just couldnt take it. I showered when I got home because I just felt dirty and smelly with all that cigarrette smoke lingering in my hair and clothes. I woke up Sunday morning more congested than before. Yuck. I cant believe I ever used to ENJOY smoking. But I never thought I'd turn into one of those people (the ones that hate smokers)...:lol: I think I realized that I just cant go to the casino or bars anymore. Oh well, big loss!! :rolleyes:

I looked at 2 apts this weekend. The 2nd one I went ahead and put in application for. This is it: http://www.forrent.com/search/detail.asp?site=1004109. If you click on the icon under "Floor Plan" by the 1 bedroom it will show you the floor plan. It's $465/mo with a $100 deposit but they give you 1 mo free and $100 cash when you move in, so the deposit is basically free. The apt has a dishwaster, sliding glass door w/patio or balcony, security system, secure building (you need a code to get in), and the kitchen and bathroom are really cute. The bathroom has a seperate little dressing area with the sink/vanity, kind of like hotels do, and the kitchen cabinets are white with light wood accents. Its pretty cute.:love: My current kitchen cabinets are this dark wood from the 1970s--UGLY! :fr: The only problem is they want me to have a job before they will let me have the place. I have a job here but I dont have a job in KC yet. I offered to put 3 mos rent down in advance in lieu of having a job in the area. They are going to check with the manager today and get back to me on that. Otherwise if they say I HAVE to have a job then I will just get a job at like Target or something until I can find something else. Either way I think I will give them the 3 mos up front because that will be nice not to have to worry about rent for 4 mos (including the free month). :twirly:

I have to give my 2 weeks notice at my current job on Friday. I've only been working here for 4 mos so I am kind of nervous they will just tell me not to come back. :stress: I dont want them to think this was my plan all along, to work here for a while then quit. Well, that actually was the plan :o but I really dont want them to know that. :nono: I debated whether or not to give them a full two weeks notice in case they DO tell me to hit the road because I really cant afford to be unemployed for 2 weeks, but I figure I at least owe them this much. And if they DO can me, I can always work temp jobs until I move. They have to cover me under thier insurance until the end of the month either way. ;) But I am still really nervous to tell them. I know they will ask why and I dont want to lie but I dont really want to tell the truth, either. Maybe I should tell them I applied at a place in KC before I got the job here and now that job wants to hire me. :?: But then again they will want to know who it is, etc....:dizzy: Arg, I hate lying. :tape:

I read the post from Zelma about Freedom and it really touched me. I guess I didnt know a lot of you felt this way. :hug: I mean, I had problems with self-image and hating clothes shopping when I was a kid, but as a teenager and an adult it really hasnt been a big part of my life. I guess its because I have never been thin. I guess you cant miss something you never had. I've always loved clothes shopping as an adult and rarely given a 2nd thought to what someone thought of what I was eating. I guess I havent really ever seen my weight as a barrier to anything really. But then again I think about another thing Zelma said, how she dont think her weight was what was causing her problems for so long. I think a lot of that might be how I am feeling and why I've never seen it as a barrier. Hm. Definitly something to ponder, that is for sure. ;)

I decided to change my weigh-in day to Friday instead of Monday. I feel like I am not getting a good read-out when I weigh on Mondays because then I will weigh maybe 2 days later and get a lower #. I'm sure it is due to using my flex points on the weekends and probably in turn getting a little more sodium, but I want to continue doing it that way so I am changing the weigh day.

The weekend was not good as far as eating goes, but it was better than it has been in the past. I am back on track today and will excercise at Curves tonight.

I called my sister to tell her about the apt and she says "Did you apply to take your cat with you?" WHAT??? :?: :tantrum: Apparently Wilhelm attacked my niece on Saturday night. Last week I was supposed to bring him to her place a couple times so he could start getting acclimated to a different house, but I was sick so that didnt happen. Well, my sister tells me Saturday night she went into my apt and got Wilhelm and brought him up to her place. We live in the same building and she has a key to my place. Wilhelm and her cat Snowbell went into my sister's bedroom and her 4 yr old daughter went with them. Well, a few minutes later Alahnnah comes running screaming out of the bedroom with blood dripping down her chin. Apparently Wilhelm scratched her up pretty bad. My sister thought she might have to have stitches :yikes: but she ended up ok. Now dont get me wrong--I love my niece and I am sorry she got scratched up. But this isnt a simple case of my cat just being mean. #1 Wilhelm has NEVER attacked anyone. He has never so much as hissed at anyone and I have had him since he was a baby. #2 My sister KNEW he was NOT declawed and that her cat was, so WHY would she leave her cat and my cat and her DAUGHTER alone in the same room? #3 I was supposed to be bring him to her house so he would have a familiar person with him. She took him out of my apt without even telling me or asking me if I thought it would be ok, AFTER he had already been alone for over 24 hrs and probably a little on edge anyway because I was gone. Cats are very sensitive. #4 She knows Wilhelm has NEVER been around other animals, period. And he has only been around her and her kids for VERY limited amounts of time (a few minutes here and there when they stop by). #5 My niece is VERY onry and I would not doubt she provoked him in some way. Wilhelm is not used to being taunted or teased the way her cat is. #6 My sister knew/knows ALL of this.

So now she says he cant come back unless he is declawed. Great. :mad: What :censored: choice to do I have???? I either get him declawed or take him to the pound. :bomb: I will NOT take him to the pound and I absolutely cannot take him with me. Not to mention now I have to spend $175 getting him declawed when I am trying to :censored: move! I am just really angry that I am being forced to do this when things most likely would've been alright had she not just taken it upon herself to bring him to her house without me or my knowledge. This is just so typical of my sister, thinking she knows better than anyone else. I just cannot express how angry I am over this. :mad: :club: So aganist my will I made an appt to get him declawed. They have a new laser procedure that makes it less invasive and less painful. Its $66 extra but I went ahead and paid for it. I owe him that much, dangit.

My sister and her kids also plugged in my Halloween lights while they were down there Saturday night and didnt unplug them so they stayed on till I got home Sunday night. I'm glad they didnt catch the drapes on fire. :rolleyes: :frypan: :kickbutt:

I'll check in after workout and dinner.

I'm so behind- been a very busy day. I ate really horrilbe today- well not horrible in the old sense, but horrible on my current plan. I ate a bannana for breakfast (good), then I ate cafeteria manicotti for lunch (not good-but b/c the lettuce was all wilted), and then i had chocolate pie for a b-day, and a 1/2 cookie and starbucks drink with my friend. I just ate vegetables for dinner, so sort of a recovery. I did 2 hours of excersize tonight so I really hope it makes up some recovery for how bad I did. As of today, I am down a half pound from friday- so far that's the right direction, although I really want to get into a steady 2 pounds per week- I still have four days though- and TOM is basically gone- so I should be able to make some progress.

Sorry no time for personals, I have lots of homework to do- I didn't do it this weekend ike I was supposed to. Have a goodnight ladies!

:mad: RATS! I've been having so much trouble getting my calories up high enough, that I indulged a bit today... and then forgot to log it until I'd indulged a bit too much. I wound up OVER by like 300 calories, which is compounded by the fact that I blew off my exercise class. I did do 23 minutes on the treadmille this morning and 33 minutes of strenth training tapes, but still... Not the end of the world, I just hate that I was lazy AND sloppy with my journaling on the same day. Well, Bill was home over the weekend but is back on the road again now. We'll just blame it all on him, and start over again tomorrow.:D

Lavandel - yeah it just sucks.

Kim: Yea for you getting into a smaller size than you thought. I'm so happy for you. I can't wait until I can get smaller things.

Val: You are doing so well working out, don't fret over your tiny mistake. You just keep your head up.

Jen: Good luck on the weigh in tomorrow.

Ayanna: Good luck on your weigh in.

Brenda: Tomorrow is a new day and see nobody had to kick you, your sugar level did it for you.

Patty: I'm sure you will break your plateau soon. Hang in there.

Cyn: I just gave my treadmill away because I didn't use it enough. I think what ever piece of exercise equiptment you get think long and hard about how much you will use it. I ride my bike daily and I am starting to use my elliptical again daily. I didn't enjoy the treadmill so I never did it.

Lavandel: Hugs to you. SO sorry some jerk ruined your walk. So happy for you being under 300!

Sharon: HI girl.

Ammi: Congrats on another 2. Only 18 more and you are at 100! You are really doing so awesome!

Mechelle: Be careful going back into exercise. Don't over do it.

Manda: Congrats on staying op at your reunion. Great job.

Nancy: Hugs. Hope you come out of the funk soon.

Luan: Hugs sweetie. I know you will meet your prince charming soon enough. Hang in there. Your Tinkerbell Mr. Potato Head sounds cute. Do they have Tigger or Winnie the POOH?

Sandy: Glad you survived being "mother of the bride" Great job staying op.

Amy: So sorry about Wilhelm. He will be okay though. I think your new appartment sounds so cute. Sounds lke it will be a great move for you.

I rode my elliptical 5 minutes without stopping. A new record for me. It just about kills me. lol. I did my bike for 3 miles too. and also weights today. Plus house cleaning. Everything is going okay here.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

Good morning, everyone.

No time for personals for me either... work beckons.

Well tomorrow marks one month of NO weight loss for me and I am NOT eating wrong and am exercising my butt off. :( This is unreal!!! Oh well... got to just keep moving! <sigh>

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Well, I have figured out the source of my funk this morning. It occurred to me that I have not had a good night sleep in well over a week if not two. It is most likely a combination of the stress at work (and when I say stress, I mean STRESS - like possibly not making payroll kind of stress) and also the fact that my back has been really acting up. I have been waking up multiple times in the night in a lot of pain and having to try and shift myself to a position it doesn't hurt. A couple of nights of this is one thing, but awhile running really wears me down. I feel really exhausted.

Good morning ladies! Not much to report here. Very sore in my arms from the last two days wieght lifting- at least today they will get some rest! Started my day off perfectly OP, so hopefully the rest the day will continue that way- I'm determined that I will see some serious loss on friday- so I'll have to be really good the next few days.

Well- I'm at work, so better get back at it- Have a good day chickies!

Kim--It doesnt sound like you did TOO bad yesterday. Like you say, it was a bad day for your current plan, but not as bad as you used to eat, right? With your busy schedule I think you are doing amazing! :balloons: I'm sure you'll get back to your steady 2 lbs soon w/TOM going home! :D

Great to hear you are back on track today. Sorry your arms are sore but I bet it feels kind of good because it lets you know how hard you have been working. :wl:

Valerie--Yeah, you can always blame it all on men. :yes: :lol: 300 calories isnt much. You burn about 500 calories in a workout at Curves, so just think of it that way. At least you kept up with your excercise and got that done! And at least the overage wasnt caused by you just saying "stuff it" and eating whatever you want; it was purely accidental. So you are doing great! :cheer2:

Annie--GREAT new avatar!! :joker: I LOVE the doggies!! Hahaha!!

:hug: Thanks for the encouragement about my little kitty boy. As if I already didnt have enough kitty-mommy guilt about giving him up, huh? :dz:

Glad to hear you got some good excercise in! You are rocking and rolling, girl! Yeah, that eliptical (sp?) really works your butt!! And the rest of you, too! :lol:

Melissa--Like you say, even if the scales dont show much you are still doing GREAT! :encore: Even if there is no actual weight loss I'm sure you are toning up and at the very least you ARE getting healthier! Good for you for keeping your eye on that prize, girl!

That dinner you made sounds absolutely delish! I LOVE asparagus and jasmine rice is awesome...:drool: My ex-boyfriend was always the cook aroud our house, but my current boyfriend doesnt cool at all. I am not much of a cook either so he has gotten used to a lack of "home cooking". :D

Misti--I'm sorry you're having trouble with that :censored: scale!! That must be so frustrating. I wonder what the problem is? Do you think it could be something medical? That scale better shape up and start being nice to our girl or it will be in BIG trouble!! :club:

Nancy--Good to hear you figured out what was bringing the funk, but that really sucks about your back! Have you always had back problems? Geez, you would think after all the weight you've lost that it wouldnt be acting up so much! I would imagine that would be kinda frustrating! :mad: I certainly hope your job stress level goes down soon and that you are able to get some good sleep. I'll bet you are just about ready to drop. :faint:

As for me ladies, I am SOOOO tired today. :tired: I didnt get to bed till like 10:30 last night (I usually have a strict bedtime of 10) TOM started yesterday, and it is just a cold gloomy day outside. I just have this general feeling of illness, like I need to go home and sleep. I have a sinus headache and cramps and I am still pretty congested from being sick last week. I just feel kind of crappy. If I dont feel better later maybe I will go home a couple hours early and catch a nap. :yes:

I worked out at Curves last night. I am really starting to enjoy my workouts more and more each time I go. :trampo: I really like it that I dont see it as a chore anymore! Last week when I was sick I actually really wanted to go, but I was just so tired and didnt feel good so I didnt.

I wasnt going to weigh until Friday but I broke down and weighed yesterday. It wasnt good. Oh well. I'll let you know what it says Friday.

I had a great OP day yesterday and today is looking good, too!!

I think some people mentioned they wanted the recipe for the Layered Mexican Chicken from the WW website. Here it is:

POINTS® Value | 6
Servings | 12
Preparation Time | 20 min
Cooking Time | 30 min
Level of Difficulty | Moderate

This Mexican lasagna will last up to five days in the fridge. Freezes well.

Ingredients

1 sprays olive oil cooking spray
2 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, or Mexican-style cheese blend
8 oz chopped green chilies, two 4-oz cans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortilla(s), cut into 2-inch strips
1 cup salsa, mild, medium or hot

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

2.Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water just to cover chicken. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes; drain. When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces.

3.Transfer chicken to a large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, cumin, and pepper; mix well and set aside.

4.Arrange half of tortillas in bottom of prepared lasagna pan, overlapping pieces to cover surface. Top tortillas with half of chicken mixture, layer with remaining tortillas and then top with remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.

5.Bake until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces. Serve with salsa on the side.

Hi Everyone,
Things are slowly getting back to normal here. My mother-in-law left this morning.
We had a great visist. The kids are in Orlando on their Honeymoon, all the tuxes are back, flowers are being dried, my kids are back in school and I go back to work Monday.
My leg held up for the wedding, but I sure paid for it Sunday and Monday. It has to get back to improving today. It just must.
I have a cool NSV to tell you about. When I bought my outfit for the wedding (a skirt, tank shell and wrap) I also bought an extra shirt cuz the tank shell wouldn't go over my hips. Well, guess what I wore!? The tank shell cuz it went over my hips! I was so happy. I was disappointed that tom came the same day as my weigh in, Friday, day before the wedding, and I didn't show a loss. But, I know I always retain water, so I wasn't freaked out. Then Saturday, when I was dressing for the wedding, what a great surprise it was to have that tank shell fall over my big hips.
My SD is still a pain in the neck, but she did behave for the wedding. I was very happy about that! But she's back to normal now too, defiant in a passive agressive kind of way.
She only gets plain agressive when her dad's not around. Oh well, whatchya gonna do?

Misti, Please, hang in there. I'm so sorry you've not had a loss on the scale in a month.
Are you measuring your self? Remember muscle weighs more than fat. Have you thought about bumping up your calories by about 500 daily for a week or two while still exercising to see how your body responds? I can't imagine how frustrated you are. But don't give up!

Annie, Great job on the elliptical for 5 minutes. The first time I was on one I could only handle 3 minutes. The last time, a long time ago, I was on for 8 minutes and it took me 3 days to be able to walk normal again. I know they really work your body hard. They're fun too aren't they And 5 mins on it and doing the rest of your routine is a wonderful NSV.

Melissa, I had a bad experience with salmon once and am afraid to try it again. .....But, how did you fix yours? For 140 caolires, I may have to try it.
Good idea to take a rest day too. :-)

Nancy, Take a deep breath and tell yourself you're gonna be kind to yourself today. You can only do what you can do, so just do your best at it at your job. Remember to drink your water. I know we all say it a million times, but I can't believe how much it helps. And, staying hydrated helps you stay focused on whatever you're doing. Around here, kids have water bottles at their desks cuz the teachers say research has shown kids learn better and perform better on tests when they are well hydrated.

I'm sorry no more personals at the moment, Ladies, but my house is a mess still and I'd really like to enjoy the evening with my man in a clean house tonight.

Amy in S Wales, I didn't see any of your posts. If I missed them, I'm sorry, and I hope you are doing ok.

Love, Sandy

Hello Chickies!

Yes, I've been MIA all weekend and you have so many wonderful posts since I last posted I pretty much can't do replies…but I do want to say something to a few of you real quick!

Amy: Nice apartment and really good price for KC. Missouri will be lucky to have you! :) The green goop doesn't sound viral to me…that's always the question the Dr. asks before he give me antibiotics. If you don't get better soon, get a 2nd opinion. As to the smoking…it used to bother me more than it does now (ex-smoker too.) but the casino's are REALLY bad. FWIW I do my WI on Wednesday. I find it to be pretty much perfect. It gives me a couple days to undo any damage from the weekend and yet I don't have so far to go that I've used up my flex points before I get to the weekend. SO bad about your kitty…but he'll be fine! I've never had a house cat that wasn't declawed and they've all done just fine with it.

Luan: I'm sorry it didn't work out. :hug: Not much else a person can say about that.

Misti: I agree with Sandy. Maybe you need to shake things up some with the diet. How many calories are you getting? Could your body have gone into "starvation mode" from using too many more than you are taking in? Plateaus suck…but they do end! Hang in there! :hug:

The weekend found me really busy. Went to a medieval thing on Saturday – ate too much and got no exercise. :( But had a nice time….just used a few more flex points than I ought – that's my usual for the weekends though. Sunday I took DS to a neighboring (much larger) town and we shopped and shopped – until he dropped! It was really pretty funny…him saying "Mom I'm tired! Can't we go home!" and me saying "If a fat old woman can do it you can…don't be a wimp!" :lol: I literally walked for FOUR HOURS! I was SO tired that night! But it was a good thing I did – food wasn't the best. Subway for lunch was fine…but then there was the wonderful big waffle cone of homemade ice cream we got! Dropped DS off when we got home and went BACK to shopping at our local mall for Halloween stuff and then to Goodwill. I was looking for a pair of black cargo pants for DS costume...but what I got was this great long skirt for myself! An 18W and fits like it was tailored to me! $3.00! :D Now that's a good ending to the day! Ah well…it was a good day. Yesterday I was supposed to go to work…office was closed, but that's when I get the most done! Didn't happen, of course. I slept way too late and ended up just working on Halloween costumes. I haven't done any sewing for so long! It was nice to see I still can.

Well all, not much of a post, but time for me to try to get some actual work done! Later! :wave:

:badbat: Good Morning ladies. I love the new little smilies.

Melissa: Good luck on the your weigh in. I hope you are wrong and you see a loss! ;)

Nancy: Poor thing.:hug: It really sounds like you aer stressed out. Maybe you need a new mattress? A new job? I feel for you and hope things get better soon.

Kim: :carrot: sounds like you are doing well. Keep on staying op. We can do this Kim! :lifter:

Amy: How often do you go and :trampo: :exercise: at Curves? I was told to only go there 3 times a week. Thats why I do my bike and stuff at home daily.

Sandy: :woohoo: How awesome that the shirt fit you. You go girl.

Lilion: Wow :running: all that walking you did is amazing. I would have been so done after 1 hour let alone 4. I must be so exciting to have so much more stamina than you used to!

Everyone take care and if I didn't mention you big :hug: hope you are all having op days.

Blessings,
annie

I just wanna say good evening to everyone :) Hope you're doing ok, having good OP day!

WTG Annie with the elliptical :cheer: Those things are exhausting. I can barely do it for 7mins every now and then. I dont know how anyone can do it like 45mins...cant even imagine that :?:

Blah, I cant even keep my eyes open anymore...Im tired :( Didnt exercise much tonight, only 7mins on elliptical and nothing else, but I'm still sticking to my diet 100% with absolutely 0,00 snacks for two weeks now. My mum offered me a cracker tonight and I was like NO! How dare you give me this? lol

Anyway Im off to bed. Good night to all :hug: